Tuesday, April 19, 2005

FIRST BAD NEWS OF THE "WILD RIDE" : MASON TO TRANSFER

MU guard Mason plans to transferBy TODD ROSIAKtrosiak@journalsentinel.comPosted: April 19, 2005Dameon Mason, the third-leading scorer for the Marquette men's basketball team last season, told the Journal Sentinel this afternoon that he will transfer to another school at the end of the semester. Coach Tom Crean also confirmed Mason's decision.

Mason, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound sophomore guard from Kansas City, averaged 11.9 points per game and was second in rebounding at 5.6 per game. He was one of five Marquette players to play in all 31 games, starting 28 and averaging 30.4 minutes.

The Golden Eagles' most explosive athlete, Mason was named to Conference USA's all-freshman team in 2003-'04 and got off to a solid start this season but fell into a funk at mid-season after playing out of position at times when injuries decimated the team's backcourt.

Mason was benched for three games down the stretch but regained his starting spot for the team's final five games, after senior Travis Diener suffered a season-ending hand injury in practice. He never was able to find a cure for the turnover bug, however, and wound up leading the team with 89 - an average of 2.9 per game and 31 more than Diener's total as the Golden Eagles' point guard.

Mason declined to discuss where he might wind up, saying he'd do so only after the transfer process had been finalized.

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The purpose of this blog is to report issues that involve the campuses of Marquette and Indiana University and to comment on local, state, and national news. While this blog celebrates Andrew Jackson's founding of the Democratic party, 1832 will criticize the Democratic Party and will offer guest blogger invites to Republicans and Independents as warranted to further intellectual development and discourse.